Warm up and chill out in Tamborine's luxury forest retreat

THE first chills of winter have hit, so it's time to head for the hills - and where better than the luxurious mountain playground of Tamborine.

escape tamborine

THE first welcome chills of winter, so it's time to head for the hills.

And where better than the mountain playground of Tamborine, less than an hour south of Brisbane and offering a wealth of experiences, as well as warmth when you come in from a brisk walk in the rainforest the most southerly in Queensland.

And what better place to escape to than Pethers Rainforest Retreat? It is seemingly hidden deep in the wilderness, but is only 500m from the main street of North Tamborine, where all the serious (ie non-touristy) business of the mountain goes on, and where you'll find the best cafes that most day-trippers don't know about.

If you're looking for privacy, this place will astound you. Pass the busy IGA in Main St, the post office and all the daily business of the mountain, then turn left and follow a road that peters out into a bush track and before you know it the sounds of daily life have died away and it's nothing but you and the birds.

Don't expect basic rural cottages, though, because this is elegance on a big scale. You'll be welcomed into a reception area that leads into a formal dining area and a huge communal salon, where the main feature is a four-sided, raised open fireplace in the middle of the room, where guests can mingle with a glass of winter warmers and a sense of being isolated in the kind of luxury the Swiss Family Robinson couldn't dream about.

Dinner is served in this area, if you're eating in. The menu is as fine as the surroundings and it's only a three-minute walk back to your private tree house, where an electric log-fire lookalike warms the room.

It's as romantic a getaway as you could wish, with a big deck overlooking your own private rainforest where, once the morning fog has lifted, you may care to eat breakfast. Later in the day, it's the perfect place to catch the rays of the sun as they filter through the ghost gums or, even later, when the air is still warmish and the setting sun envelops the area like a blanket, to take a pre-prandial drink and settle down for another delightful evening in paradise.

If it's too cold to go outside, you can still see the forest from behind the 5m glass doors. But you may not be able to hear the call of the Yowie in the middle of the night - I'm sure it was Big Foot tramping through the forest, unless it was just some less threatening heavy-footed forest dweller. Or maybe the ghost gums come alive when everyone has gone to bed we've all read The Lord of the Rings and know what ancient trees can get up to. But as the daylight gradually takes over, they flit away like all the other things that go bump in the night, and you can stay safe and happy with the doona over your head, which you may find necessary as the windows are not curtained.

And the best thing is that the room is still warm because, unlike real wood fires, which tend to burn out about 3am, this electric fire still flickers and lets you arise to a temperature that is much more acceptable than outside.

You don't have to get up and dressed for breakfast, because all the ingredients are already in your refrigerator, so you are saved all that early morning conviviality, which also means you can relax in the private spa bath after breakfast.

Afterwards, there are the delights of North Tamborine and Tamborine Mountain to sample. Don't forget the Russian distillery just near the petrol station on Great Western Rd, the Skywalk through untouched rainforest, the Witches Chase Cheese Factory and boutique brewery at the end of Gallery Walk or the rainforest walks, winery tours and the glow-worm caves. If you can't find at least three days of things to occupy yourself, you might as well just go back to Pethers and chill out or warm up, because this ultimate luxury 10-room retreat is one of my favourite places to stay.

Getting there
Take the Pacific Motorway south from Brisbane towards the Gold Coast, take Exit 35 and follow the signs to North Tamborine, through Tamborine Village at the bottom of the mountain, past the Rainforest Skywalk and Songbirds, and along to North Tamborine Village (do not take the turn-off on the left to Gallery Walk), where you turn right into the main street, and eventually left into Geissman Rd.

Staying there
Pethers Rainforest Retreat, 28b Geissman Rd, (off Main St), North Tamborine.
Ph [phone], email [e-mail] or see www.pethers.com.au

Doing there
Google 'Tamborine Mountain Visitor Information' for ideas.

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